This pretty town on Lake Te Anau (the largest lake on the South Island) is more or less halfway between Milford Sound and Queenstown. It's also a gateway to Fiordland National Park and the starting point for some of New Zealand's most famous hiking tracks.
Weather permitting, floatplane trips into the park depart from the lake. If feats of engineering fascinate you, take a guided tour of the huge, underground, hydroelectric Manapouri Power Station. Trips to Doubtful Sound, larger and more remote than Milford Sound, also depart from Manapouri.
Te Anau is 105 mi/170 km southwest of Queenstown.